Pumping Solutions | Metropolitan Industries

August 23, 2012

SUMPRO® Battery Backup, Because Flooding is Not an Option

Continuing our residential flood control series, the name SUMPRO® has been synonymous with dependability for over 20 years. UL recognized and a favorite among contractors, plumbers and homeowners around the country, the SUMPRO® battery backup system is the premier fully-automatic auxiliary power source available.

Performance tested for optimal functionality, SUMPRO® systems can be used in conjunction with pumps of the published horsepower ratings.

“What makes SUMPRO® such a high-end piece of equipment is its ability to take DC battery power and convert it into 115 VAC power,” said Metropolitan salesperson Brian Drafke. “This allows users to eliminate unreliable 12 VDC powered pumps and continuing using a standard 115 VAC pump without any modifications or piping changes.”

SUMPRO® systems install in minutes as users simply plug units into a standard wall outlet. Once detected, SUMPRO® will continue to use utility power until a power failure is detected. When a power failure is detected, SUMPRO® will instantaneously begin to supply standard household electricity to any connected appliances. Once utility power is restored, SUMPRO® automatically switches your appliance back to utility power and immediately begins to recharge its internal batteries in anticipation of the next power failure.

“Unlike some uninterrupted power supplies, SUMPRO® is designed to handle inrush power demanded by pumps,” said Drafke. “With our proprietary programming, SUMPRO® can start pumps even in long power outages when the battery power has diminished. The testing we’ve conducted has shown significant additional run times due to this feature.”

The typical installation of a SUMPRO® battery backup system.

SUMPRO® has input levels of 60 Hz, 120 VAC and 12 AMP, and output levels of 120 VAC and 15 AMP at a .80 service factor. Units can be shipped anywhere and come with a full one-year guarantee.

For premier performance, SUMPRO® can be combined with Metropolitan’s maintenance-free AGM Power+ batteries. By adding an extra set of Power+ batteries, users can double or triple their run times.

In addition to SUMPRO®, Metropolitan’s residential division offers full packages which include battery backup systems, pumps, float switches and pump controllers needed for complete flood protection.

For more information regarding the SUMPRO® battery backup system and our residential division, please visit the official website of SUMPRO® or call 800-323-1665.

August 16, 2012

Special Fabrication Aids Franklin Park, Ill. Pump Station Renovation

A view of the renovated water pump station in Franklin Park, Ill.

At Metropolitan Industries, we pride ourselves on service that exceeds customer specifications. Over the years, we have modernized the fabrication process to complete projects that include even the most difficult of challenges.

The Village of Franklin Park, Ill. recently made the decision to upgrade an existing pump station and contractor Dahme Mechanical Industries, Inc. of Arlington Heights, Ill. called upon Metropolitan to assist in addressing their needs.

The facility was more than 40 years old and served as a main water pump station for the village. The project required specialized fabrication of certain parts to aid in installation of the new booster pumps.

Following an initial field visit, Metropolitan Salesperson Ken Turnquist came to the conclusion that specially fabricated spools would be required for the project to function upon completion. To accommodate the village’s needs, Metropolitan’s Bob Svoboda designed several custom-dimensioned offset spools to ensure the new pumps would work in the existing configuration.

“We needed to design special 12-inch by 8-inch spools, so I essentially started with a 12-inch diameter pipe and constructed it on a segment by segment basis” said Svoboda. “By the time we had finished, the other end of the spool matched the 8-inch connection and bolted in perfectly.”

In total, eight specially fabricated spools were required to complete the project.

Turnquist says the need to specially fabricate a system is an opportunity Metropolitan faces on a routine basis. Lift station adapter flanges for rail systems are one of many special fabrications Metropolitan creates regularly.

Metropolitan’s Fabrication Department designed eight offset spools for the upgrade.

“We’re often faced with projects where existing wetwells have all of the piping and suction elbows mounted,” said Turnquist. “In many instances the customer elects to utilize one of our pumps, but a stock flange cannot fit in the existing rail system. This is where we have to specially fabricate a new flange that will allow the new pump to seal on the existing base elbows.”

For more information, please contact Ken Turnquist at 815-886-9200, ext. 261 or sales@metropolitanind.com.

August 9, 2012

Take Control with the Ion Genesis®

Metropolitan’s Ion Genesis® smart sensing controller gives users control of all vital pumping options.

The development of our Ion™ Digital Level Control float switch opened the door for the development of new products within the Ion product line including our user-programmable smart sensing controller, the Ion Genesis®.

To put in the most simplistic terms possible, the Ion Genesis® is the most complete pump controller on the market, providing the most features and safeguards against the devastation of flooding.

The Ion Genesis® comes complete with dual Ion™ Digital Level Control float switches which continuously diagnose and report real-time critical pumping information to the controller. The controller itself gives users control of all vital aspects of pumping and efficiently cycles pumps to minimize pump turn-on cycles, ultimately adding life to the pump itself.

Metropolitan Salesperson James Spurney said everything starts with Ion™ Digital Level Control float switches, which are used in place of standard float switches. These sensors are the most reliable on the market and incorporate no moving parts, which is associated with 98% of mechanical switch failures.

Basic features include a high water alarm and easy installation, but Spurney contends the Ion Genesis’® advanced features of protecting against floods are what distinguishes itself from similar products on the market.

“For starters, you have the redundancy of not just two pumps, but two of the most reliable float switches available,” said Spurney. “Even if one of the float switches were to fail, a high water alarm will notify the user and will also keep both pumps operating. This feature is not available anywhere else and will ultimately give users the time to replace a failed switch and still prevent flooding.”

Another unique feature of the Ion Genesis® is the ability for users to manually adjust the pumping level. The level can be adjusted from 2” to 24” in 0.5” increments using the controller without entering the pit. Spurney said this not only gives the product versatility, but can also extend the life of pumps as well.

“The ability to adjust the level differential is only available on the Ion Genesis®” said Spurney. “Users can also set the level to produce the longest cycle time which is ultimately going to extend the overall life of the pump.”

Installation of the Ion Genesis® involves no hard-wiring or complex programming and can be used in small or large volume sump pits.

The combination of versatility, value and multiple fail safes make the Ion Genesis® the premier product in flood control.

“A pump alternator that is capable of testing the primary switch, the backup switch and has a high water alarm that can still run the pumps if switch failure occurs is a one of a kind piece of equipment,” said Spurney. “In addition, the flexible nature of Ion™ Digital Level Control switches and the ability to adjust the pumping level ensures this product can be used in nearly any residential application. Simply put, this is the best pump alternator available.”

For more information regarding the Ion Genesis®, please contact 815-886-9200 or visit us on the web.

July 19, 2012

Hotel Employs Variable Speed Controls to Reduce Energy Demands

The Wyndham Hotel of Lisle, Ill. is located just outside of Chicago and includes 242 rooms spread across eight floors.

At Metropolitan Industries, we have the capability to bring the most up to date, energy efficient pump system to your commercial facility.

Whether you require a retrofit substitution of a previous design or an entirely different pump system in general, Metropolitan has the experience, adaptability, and customer service to design and service the most complex commercial projects.

A premier example of our commitment to delivering this type of system is demonstrated by the work done at the Wyndham Hotel of Lisle, Ill.

Working with a constant speed system that was over 10 years old, the hotel turned to Metropolitan Industries to deliver a solution that would save in energy costs.

“The previous system the hotel was using was a constant speed triplex system utilizing two large pumps and one small pump,” said Metropolitan Salesperson Mike Ponx. “With this configuration, the pumps would run even during the lowest demand periods. This type of system is quite wasteful from an energy consumption standpoint and we replaced it with a system that is more energy efficient.”

Metropolitan replaced the existing system with a Metro-Varipac System 2100 Triplex Variable Speed Pump System designed to provide a flow rate of 600 GPM at a constant discharge pressure of 90 PSI. A total of three pumps were supplied, each designed to perform at 200 GPM at 115’ TDH. Each pump motor is rated at 15 HP, 3500 RPM, 60 Hz, 460 volt and three phase.

Metropolitan’s Triplex Variable Speed Pump System will not only save the Wyndham Hotel funds in energy savings, it also freed up space for the hotel to utilize differently.

Metropolitan’s Metro-Varipac systems are available with options including, but not limited to, touch screen control, stainless steel piping and hydropnuematic tanks.

The smart pump technology incorporated by Metropolitan extends the life of the pump system. The compact packaged design allows for easy maintenance and gives customers the ability to place systems virtually anywhere. Variable speed controls can save customers thousands in energy savings and can virtually pay for the entire system over time.

“The use of variable frequency drives ensures the pumps are not running at full capacity during low flow periods,” said Ponx. “This is when energy savings are maximized.”

The compact design of the new triplex system not only allows for easier maintenance, but also saved a great deal of space for the hotel.

“The previous configuration the hotel was using had actually taken up two rooms,” said Ponx. “By removing an old, out of commission water softener and incorporating the compact design of the new triplex booster system, they only needed to reserve one room for the new system, allowing them to use the additional space for whatever they please.”

With the installation of the new variable speed booster system, the hotel can expect an energy reduction of 30% to 40% in domestic water system operation. For more information, please contact Mike Ponx at 815-886-9200, etc. 265 or sales@metropolitanind.com.

July 11, 2012

Metropolitan Engineers Retrofit Upgrade to Commercial Building with Self-Priming Sewage and Sump Pump System

At Metropolitan, we can supply all equipment needed to keep your pump system functioning as efficient as possible. Our adaptability and knowledge of new technologies give us the ability to supply the most cutting-edge equipment, which can extend the life of a system, save end users funds and make maintenance easier than ever before.

A premier example of this technology is demonstrated by the work done at a large commercial building located in Lake County, Ill. At the request of the owner, the building name and location will remain confidential.

Metropolitan completed a retrofit application in which a total of eight self-priming sewage and sump pump systems were installed to replace aging equipment that was over 25 years old. Metropolitan was the supplier and designer of the retrofit project, crossing over the old style of pumps with the new of style pumps.

“We upgraded the customer to our new model 35-45 MPC self-priming pump system where they had been previously using the older 30 MPC model,” said Metropolitan Commercial Salesperson Kent Swanson. “The new system is more efficient, incorporates new and improved changes to the design of the impeller and provides larger housing for the pump among many improved features from the previous model.”

Swanson said Metropolitan was contacted at the project’s inception at the end of 2010 and that pumps officially went into operation in August of 2011. Swanson said the systems were built and shipped to the job site at once, accommodating the customer’s installation date request and ultimately assisting in the installation process.

“It helps coordinating with the customer when all systems are built and shipped before installation,” said Swanson. “With this type of approach, the plumber knows what materials they have to acquire and if any changes need to be made to the system design, we’re not finding out the day of the installation.”

Among the many improvements the new model 35-45 MPC provides in comparison to older models, Swanson named a few in particular that were illustrated in this project.

“The new design of the impeller makes it much easier to service the pump, so it’s more maintenance-friendly than the existing configuration,” said Swanson. “With the old style, you had to make more adjustments to the impeller to ensure the system would function properly. The new model system also provides for a more efficient operation, low installation cost and low repair cost.”

Swanson said the systems were installed in a number of locations at the facility.

An interesting aspect of the project was the utilization of stainless steel basin covers for systems installed in the facility’s parking garage pump rooms.

“Parking garages have a tendency to get a lot of water, often times just water seepage on the ground,” said Swanson. “We noticed the old covers were rusting away which is dangerous because anyone could fall right through and sustain a serious injury. What we did was incorporate stainless steel basin covers on the new systems with the benefit being corrosion resistance. Stainless steel will not rust and the customer will no longer have safety issues looming.”

In all, the customer made the choice to conduct a retrofit upgrade due to the advancements the new model provides.

“The customer was happy with the old pumps and the existing configuration,” said Swanson. “However, the pumps were aging and the new technology our new model provides made the decision to upgrade practical for the customer to make.”

Are Your Storm and Sewage Water Removal Capabilities In Need of an Upgrade?

Learn more about how our self-priming pump systems can vastly improve storm and sewage water management for your infrastructure.

Self-Priming Pump Systems

July 5, 2012

Equipment Upgrades Bring Pump Station Efficient Operation

In addition to the equipment we supplied to the Joe Orr Road Lift Stations of Chicago Heights, Ill., Metropolitan was also chosen to supply equipment to the 71st Street Stormwater Pump Station in Bridgeview, Ill. The control and power distribution equipment was housed in a prefabricated concrete building with outside dimensions of 10’6” in length and 10’4” in width.

The addition of variable frequency drives will provide the pump station with efficient operation, which will lead to energy savings for the customer.

Three Hydromatic model S12L4000 non-clog pumps with 100’ cords and silicon carbide seals were supplied. Each pump has a capacity of 3142 GPM at 29.2’ TDH for a total pumping capacity of 9,426 GPM when operating in parallel. Each motor is rated at 40 HP, 1150 RPM, 460 volts, 60 Hz and three phase. A 125 kW natural gas, sound attenuated Caterpillar generator was also included in the equipment package.

Metropolitan’s Keith Girup said Metropolitan was contacted to take part in the project at its inception, and that the eventual place where the building would be placed and function had much to do with its overall design.

“This pump station is on the southwest side of Toyota Park on 71st Street in Bridgeview where an IDOT viaduct is being constructed so that traffic can flow under the railroad tracks,” said Girup. “The pumps will displace stormwater during rain events to prevent the viaduct from flooding.”

Girup said additions of variable frequency drives and enhanced controls with SCADA components will provide the municipality with both energy efficient operation and alarm notification if procedure encounters a malfunction.

Control upgrades were made at Metropolitan and the building was shipped fully assembled and ready for installation.

“This station has been designed with variable frequency drives which will vary the speed of the pumps to match the rainfall event,” said Girup. “By varying the speed of the pumps, the motors will only consume the amps needed to match the influent rate, thus saving on electrical costs.”

For more information, please contact Keith Girup at 815-886-9200, ext. 264 or sales@metropolitanind.com.

June 23, 2010

Famous Chicago Building puts pressure on Green Initiative

The Merchandise Mart located in Chicago.

When the world-renowned Merchandise Mart in Chicago began the task of obtaining LEED-EB certification, it was just the fifth building in Chicago to go “Green”. Adhering to standards set forth by the LEED Green Building Rating System, a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The Merchandise Mart focused on five key areas of green building strategy: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials/resources and indoor environmental quality as set forth by LEED. Such on-going improvements involved reevaluation of capital programs for replacement of windows, roofs, controls, plumbing fixtures, utility meters and lighting.

To better target energy efficiency, just one of the many strategies directed by Merchandise Mart’s Vice President of Engineering Mark J Bettin, P.E. was replacing an outdated domestic water supply system that was a large consumer of energy and an inefficient supplier of water.

Original System

The original system consisted of five pumps ranging in size from 40 hp to 75 hp. The pumps ran at a constant speed intended for the highest demands even during low-flow periods such as during the middle of the night. The system was designed to deliver over 1250 gpm, churned at 290psig, and incorporated pressure reducing valves on the discharge of each pump to maintain a system pressure at 200psig. The five original pumps were oversized by 35HP each, totaling 175 unnecessary horses.

“With recent restroom renovations complete, the water consumption and demand reduced annually by over 35%, resulting in an oversized, inefficient pumping system.

It required large amounts of energy to run and replacing it would help in the buildings’ on going energy reduction efforts and contribute in maintaining the standards of LEED certification,” Bettin said.

According to Merchandise Mart’s Plumbing Foreman, John Geiss, prior to the retro-fit and during heavy usage the domestic water system would see momentary swings in the system as much as 40-PSI at the top end of the system, resulting in noticeable fluctuations at the fixtures and excessive pipe movement.

The Merchandise Mart is the world’s largest commercial building, largest wholesale design center and one of Chicago’s premier international busine

Back View of the Energy-Saving Pump System

ss locations. Encompassing 4.2 million gross square feet, The Mart spans two city blocks and stands 25 stories high. Today, The Merchandise Mart welcomes more than three million visitors each year to its retail shops, boutiques, 11 floors of permanent showrooms for gift, residential, casual and contract furnishings, 10 floors of office space, dozens of trade shows and a myriad of special educational, community and consumer events.

During peak flows, which typically are during a large tradeshow event or during the workweek, demand can reach 750 gallons a minute when up to 20,000 people populate the building during major exhibitions. However, during low flows, as witnessed during the early morning hours, demand can slow to a few gallons a minute. With such a wide range of flows and given the Merchandise Mart’s demanding show schedule where water consumption constantly changes, the new domestic water system would need to match not only extremely high flow demands but also the low flow demands using the least amount of energy necessary.

During the bidding process, quality, service and experience were the criteria important to Bettin when choosing the companies to complete the work.

“We pre-qualified the companies such as engineer KGWW, Metropolitan Industries, Inc., Great Lakes Plumbing and Blaze Electric based on their experience and reputation,” he said.

Chicago-based Great Lakes Plumbing was awarded the design/build contract based on the proposal they submitted. Great Lakes’ Bob DeGuiseppe, project manager, served as the general plumbing contractor and pump and control system manufacturer Metropolitan Industries, Inc. of Romeoville, Ill., designed the new system and pressure reducing zone stations while Blaze Electric of Broadview, Ill. served as the installing electrical contractor and KJWW of Chicago served as Engineer during the project.

The New “Green” System

Metropolitan’s design of the pump system and pressure reducing zone stations was based on two specific goals that included reducing energy costs on day one of start-up; and ensuring enough redundancy to prevent loss of service in the future due to power or mechanical issues.

Working closely with DeGuiseppe, Metropolitan Chicago Sales Manger, Mike Ponx suggested installing a variable-speed system that would reduce energy costs by half due to the system’s ability to precisely match demand using only the minimal amount of energy necessary.

During low flow periods where little or no demand exists, a variable speed system shuts down entirely saving energy and money while four bladder tanks located in two separate locations help maintain pressure, while the system is in shutdown / low flow mode

Front view of the Energy-Saving Pump System

The system supplied was a variable speed, quadraplex booster system using vertical, multi-stage pumps, total system rated at 1000GPM at 200 PSI. The Merchandise Mart’s peak flows are 750 gallons/minute so in a condition where any single pump fails, the system will still be able to handle the load without shut down. To add to the redundancy, there are two separate power feeds divided between the system. Feed A runs three pumps and Feed B runs two pumps. If either feed A or feed B is lost, the building will still have one electrical feed to supply water to the building without interruption or system shutdown. The electrical control system and plumbing design was also configured to one existing pump to operate as a manual stand-by pump to further add redundancy to the building.

The building is divided into four zones to stabilize pressure. At each zone, pressure reducing valves were downsized to maintain each of the zone’s pressure requirements and the four bladder tanks were installed on the 6’’ cold water express risers to sustain pressure when the system shuts off during low flow periods.

Using bladder tanks at the top of the express riser, pressure is stored so the system can shut off during low flow periods. As flow is consumed the pump system will activate and supply water to the building at the desired pressure. Once the demand for water is reduced to a low flow period, the system will shut off once again. Significant energy savings is realized during low flow periods when using variable speed drives and bladder tanks in combination.

During installation of the pumps and controls, interruption of service did not occur to the building said DeGuiseppe. “Since the existing booster system had two independent electrical feeds and the building could not be without water at any time, the electrical controls were built into two sections, which would be mated together during the second phase, he said. DeGuiseppe spilt the new control panel into two sections, Blaze Electric installed the main control section first after disconnecting the first electrical feed, than installed the first two of four pumps using the new controls. Once the first two new pumps were online Blaze Electric removed the old panel and installed the second half of the new control panel, which was designed to mate up to the first section. After that, the remaining two pumps were installed.

Green Savings

The energy savings realized using a variable speed booster system are tremendous. In order to commission the system and measure the savings, meters were installed to measure flow and energy consumption.

Results appeared quickly with the installation of the first two pumps. Energy reductions in the first week were 34%. With completion of all the pumps, the bladder tanks came on line and the system was set for commissioning. Utilizing a system by-pass and real-time flow meter, various loads were created to allow for fine tuning of the drives and staging of pumps. With the removal of the top zone PRV, the system pressure was successfully lowered from 200 to 185. Taking advantage of the bladder tanks, the night-time mode was enabled resulting in the cycling of pumps. Week after week evaluation has shown a reduction in energy by up to 50% with an anticipated annual energy reduction of over 125,000 kwh.

Within a decade, the system will pay for itself entirely on energy-savings and the expected life of this system is over 25-30 years so eventually the system will not only pay the end-user for the cost of the system but it will also pay the costs to replace itself in its lifetime!

Conclusion

According to Geiss, the completion of the retro-fit work improved the overall performance of the system by lowering working pressure and reducing fluctuations throughout the system.

“For the first time we have experienced the most even flow and the best overall PSI performance at the top of the 10th, 18th and 25th floor zones,” he said.

This was accomplished by reducing the size of the valves in the respective zones to “tighten,” up the flow in conjunction to the smooth operation of the variable speed booster system and bladder tanks that feed and assist the entire system as a whole.

“Overall Metropolitan and all parties involved came through with the promise and commitment to a 2-4 psi swing, and an energy savings that will match the Merchandise Mart’s committed effort to LEED providing for a GREENER tomorrow,” said Geiss.

June 23, 2010

Above Grade Solutions eliminate confined space procedures

By: Joseph Sanchez

According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, many workplaces contain spaces considered “confined” because their configurations hinder the activities of employees who must enter, work in, and exit them. A confined space has limited or restricted means for entry or exit, and it is not designed for continuous employee occupancy. Confined spaces include, but are not limited to underground vaults, tanks, storage bins, such as those used in wastewater pumping applications.

Custom Designed Pumping Controls By Metropolitan Industries, Inc

OSHA uses the term “permit-required confined space,” to describe a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics: contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; contains a material that has the potential to engulf an entrant; has walls that converge inward or floors that slope downward and taper into a smaller area which could trap or asphyxiate an entrant; or contains any other recognized safety or health hazard, such as unguarded machinery, exposed live wires, or heat stress.

The greatest danger facing the person entering a confined space is a lack of oxygen. Several breaths of an atmosphere holding less than 6 percent oxygen can disable in seconds and can kill in minutes. Either the volume percent of oxygen can be too little (less than 19.5) or other gases (such as carbon monoxide) in the confined space may interfere with the body’s uptake of an otherwise sufficient supply. Oxygen deficiency can also debilitate sensors: Thus, a space with very low oxygen levels can’t be tested for combustible gases since standard instruments for this purpose require oxygen to function. (The sensor actually attempts to ignite a sample of the atmosphere and can’t do so when the fuel/oxygen ratio is too high.)

Not only is it dangerous to operate in a confined space, but it is also costly and time consuming for municipalities to maintain according to Metropolitan Industries Service Manager Mike Schiazzano. He says a permitted confined space needs a minimum three-man crew with the following safety gear; two multi function gas monitors, tripod with safety retrieval line, safety harness, a fresh air blower, a fresh air tank with airline, respirator and escape pack. Training the crew to use all safety gear along with the retrieval equipment procedures is also an added requirement. He adds by eliminating the need to enter or work in a confined space a municipality can save time and money.

Solutions to Confined Space Applications

Above-grade applications eliminate the danger, costs and manpower issues associated with confined space applications. Installations typically consist of a small control and generator building installed next to wells below grade containing pumps. The pumps are easily accessible and can be easily removed and installed without entering well using guide rails.

Above Grade Stations Eliminate Confined Space Entry.

Costs and labor to maintain such an installation are minimal. Given that it is above grade and anything below grade is accessible from above, typically one person can operate the entire station reducing operating costs. Also further reducing cost is the elimination of the equipment and safety apparatuses associated with confined space entry.

Metropolitan Industries, Inc. specializes in the design and manufacture of above grade, lift station/control packages and recently completed two such jobs in Merrillville, Ind. that eliminated previous confined space applications.

Broadfield Lift Station

Working with Robinson Engineering and Contractor Hasse Construction, Metropolitan Industries, Inc. supplied a triplex, component lift station complete with a prefabricated building that houses the controls, valves and generator.

The triplex concrete lift station uses three, 50 HP, rated for a total 1442 gallons per minute (GPM) at 89.2 feet of total dynamic head (TDH). One submersible level transducer and four level switches control on, off, override and alarm levels in side the basin. Access hatches, a pump removal lift out system and guide rails allow easy access to pumps for maintenance without having to enter the 32’ basin.

To eliminate confined space entry, all controls, valves and a back up generator were housed in a prefabricated building measuring 19’ 3’’ long by 13’ 6’’ wide by 11’ tall building. The building itself was divided into two sections, one side for the controls and valves and the other side dedicated to just the generator.

On the control/valve side of the building, a triplex control panel with programmable logic controller and touch screen operator interface controls the system. The discharge pipe and valve assembly are located above grade inside the building for easy access.
The generator side of the building houses a Caterpillar 125kW, 3-Phase natural gas generator complete with accessories. A 400 amp automatic transfer switch allows for transfer to the generator during power outages.

Other features of the building include an HVAC system for climate control, high water alarm with dialer and battery back up, lighting and smoke detectors.

John Wood School Lift Station

The John Wood School Lift Station is another example of an above-ground application that eliminates confined space applications. This application called for a duplex component lift station again with a prefabricated control, valve and generator building. The duplex concrete lift station uses two 40HP submersible pumps, rated for a total 700 GPM at 113’ TDH. One submersible level transducer and four level switches control on, off, override and alarm levels in side the basin. Two lift-out hydraulic sealing flange assemblies allow pump removal for maintenance and repair without entering the sump.

Just as the last example, all controls, valves and a back up generator were housed in a prefabricated building but this one measured 18’ long by 13’ 6’’ wide by 9’ tall. The building as well was divided into two sections, one side for the variable speed controls and valves and the other side dedicated to just the natural gas Caterpillar generator inside.

Other feature of the building include an HVAC system for climate control, high water alarm with dialer and battery back up, lighting and smoke detectors.

Conclusion

Above grade applications eliminate the dangers and costs associated with confined space procedures. Towns and villages save money by eliminating the special safety gear and reducing the personnel required by OSHA on a service call. Municipalities will save time by eliminating the requirement of obtaining a “confined space permit” that designates what is to be done, when and by whom. No longer will the local fire and police departments need to be involved as sometimes the permits dictate. As demonstrated a “permitted confined space” requires special handling, equipment and a fair amount of extra time and work if all the rules are followed. Eliminate these hurdles with an above grade application.